ARMY COMMANDER VISITS SINO BORDER;India, China hold first joint army exercise in J&K

AGENCY
NEW DELHI: In a first, India and China on Wednesday carried out a joint army exercise in eastern Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, a move that comes amid hectic diplomatic manoeuvring between the two countries over a host of issues like Nuclear Suppliers Group and designation of Masood Azhar as a terrorist by the UN.
During the day long exercise on Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) a fictitious situation of earthquake striking an Indian Border village was painted. Thereafter joint teams carried out rescue operations, evacuation and rendering of medical assistance.
This was done as a sequel to the first Joint Exercise held on February 6 in the area of Border Personnel Meeting Hut at Chushul Garrison of Eastern Ladakh, along with Chinese troops of Moldo Garrison.
Sources said that in February, the exercise was held in the Chinese side and this time in the Indian side along the line of Actual Control.
The Indian team for the exercise was led by Brigadier R S Raman and that of the Chinese was led by Sr Col Fan Jun.
The exercise was a great success and has not only refined the drills to provide succour to the border population in case of natural calamity but has also increased the level of trust and cooperation between the two border guarding forces along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh, the Army said in a statement here.
The joint exercise, compliments the Hand in Hand series of the India-China joint exercises and the effort of both the nations to enhance cooperation and maintain peace and tranquility along the border areas of India and China, it said.
This year’s edition of ‘Hand in Hand’ will be held at Aundh, near Pune in Maharashtra, from November 15 to 27.
Meanwhile, Lt Gen Surinder Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Western Command reviewed field formations deployed in Himachal Pradesh along the International Border with China during his two-day visit.
Lt Gen Singh, while reviewing the operational readiness of the formations in the forward areas, had detailed deliberations with field commanders, besides interacting with troops, a defence release said.
The Army commander appreciated the high state of operational readiness and the motivation and morale of troops despite the difficult terrain and extreme weather conditions.
He exhorted the troops to remain alert and operationally ready. He also emphasised on the need to ensure infallible security measures and be ready for all contingencies.
The Army commander also met Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh at Shimla today and also had a meeting with Lt Gen DR Soni, GOC-in-C Army Training Command, it said.